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RUSSIAN COAL a report from the Central Dispatch Unit Fuel and Energy Complex (CDU TEK). In 2012, total volume of Russian coal supplies increased by 3.1%, up to 310 million mt, including supplies marked for export, which rose 19% to 127 million mt. At the same time, the shipments to abroad countries during that period increased by 19.2% to 117 million mt, while to CIS countries by 16.8% to 10 million mt. In total, exports of coking coal amounted to 13 million mt (increase of 36.5% over the level of 2011), including in foreign countries, 8 million mt (32.3%) and in the CIS countries, 5 million mt (43.4%). In 2012, coal exports to the Asia-Pacific region increased to 15 million mt (29%), including coking coal—up to 2 million mt (0.9%). Top Coal Mining Companies In 2012, almost all coal companies in Russia reported growth of mining volume. In particular, Siberian Coal Energy Co. (SUEK), Russia's largest producer of coal, that is currently occupying more than 25% of the market in 2012, increased the level of mining by 6% compared to 2011—to 97.5 million mt, the company said. Sales volume last year increased by 3% to 91.8 million mt. SUEK delivered 52 million mt to Russian consumers (down by 4% compared to 2011), to export 38.8 million mt (increae of 15%). In 2012, SUEK provided about 30% of coal supplies to the domestic market and more than 20% of Russian exports of thermal coal. The company has a number of branches and subsidiaries located in the Transbaikal, Krasnoyarsk, Primorsk, Khabarovsk Territories, Kemerovo region, Republic of Buryatia and Republic of Khakassia. In 2011, SUEK set a record in terms of investments in the Russian coal industry, which amounted to RUB 18 billion ($600 million). However, in 2012, this record was broken by the second largest player of the Russian market— Kuzbassrazrezugol, which invested RUB 23 billion ($770 million) in developing coal mining operations, and at the same time appeared to be the only company in the list of Russia's top 10 that reduced coal production by the end of 2012. In total over the last 12 months, Kuzbassrazrezugol has reduced the level of coal mining by 3.3%—with the total output amounting to 45.5 million mt of coal including 5.7 million mt of coking coal. According to Igor Moskalenko, www.e-mj.com Table 1: The Main Producing Indicators of Coal Industry in Recent Years (million mt) 1988 Total mining 2000 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 425.4 257.9 328.9 302.6 323.4 334.7 352.7 • open pit mining 178.7 167.0 224.0 195.2 220.9 235.8 255.1 • underground mining 246.7 90.9 104.9 107.4 102.1 100.9 99.6 Thermal coal 352.2 196.9 260.3 241.6 253.1 269.7 278.5 Coking coal 73.2 61.0 68.6 61.0 70.3 67.0 72.1 Coal export 25.7 37.8 101.2 104.4 105.6 117.1 126.8 Stocks — 190.4 191.4 176 190.6 188.3 194.2 Import — — 25.8 24.2 28.6 32.2 22.2 95.8 96.3 Domestic power demand (+28.6) — 103.3 director of Kuzbassrazrezugol, the lower production volumes has been provided by the development program of the company. "The main strategic goal was to increase the amount of stripping, and this task is done," Moskalenko said. Moskalenko also noted that the total volume of overburden was almost 360 million m3, a 2.6% increase over the level of 2011. At the same time, the sales of coal to consumers in 2012 rose 4%, to 45.2 million mt of coal, of which 25 million mt was exported. The level of export grew by 10% compared to 2011. "In 2013, Kuzbassrazrezugol will keep the volume of coal and overburden on the same level as last year," Moskalenko said. However, it is worth noting that the volume of investment of Kuzbassrazrezugol 98.8 91.6 95.9 in 2013 should fall dramatically—almost four times compared to 2012, to RUB 5.4 billion ($180 million), out of which RUB 3 billion ($100 million) will be spent on the acquisition of basic mining equipment. "The reduction of investments in 2013 will be observed due to the fact that the major investments in the development and modernization of the production capacities were made in 2012," said Moskalenko. "In addition, all Russian miners now have to adjust their investment plans due to the sharp decline in prices on the world market." SDS-Coal, the third largest Russian producer, has shown an impressive 11.4% growth rate compared to 2011. For the first half of 2012, the growth parameters for mining reached record Table 2: The Main Russian Coal Basins Coal Basin Coal Types Resources (billion mt) Mining in A+B+C1 C2 2012 (million mt) Coal quality Content of Heating Ash (%) Sulfur (%) capacity (Micro joule/kg) Kansk-Achinsk (Krasnoyarsk Territory, Kemerovo region) Brown and black 79.4 38.8 41.1 6-15 0.3-1 12.6-17.7 Kuznetsk or Kuzbass (Kemerovo area) Black and brown 51.5 1.,7 201.5 10-16 0.3-0.8 22.8-29.8 Irkutsk (Irkutsk region) Black and brown 7.6 4.6 14.2 7-15 1.5-5 17.6–22.6 Pechora (Komi Republic) Black and brown 7.2 0.48 13.6 8.5-25 0.5-1 18.1-26.7 Donetsk (Rostov region) Black and brown 6.6 3.1 4.7 10.5-29 1.8-4.2 18.5-20.1 South Yakutia (Republic of Sakha) Black 4.5 2.8 9.2 10-18 0.3-0.5 22-37.4 MINUSA (Republic of Khakassia) Black 5.0 0.35 12.3 6.6-29.7 0.5-0.6 18-32 APRIL 2013 • E&MJ; 95